Sweet Dreams or a Beautiful Nightmare
by Candywolf33
Summary: Amanda Ripley is trying to escape Sevastopol before it is pulled into the gas giant and destroyed. However, she never suspected that the very creature who threw the space station into absolute chaos would be the one aiding her in escaping, or that the two of them fleeing from the station would be just the beginning. Eventual Human/Xenomorph pairing. Important Update. Please Read.
1. Chapter 1

My first Alien Isolation fanfic. The game itself was amazing, but I found myself absolutely loving the xenomorphs. So much in fact, that I went ahead and watched all four Alien movies. After that, the idea for this story was bugging me so much that I had to write it.

 **There will be xenomorph lemons.**

One more thing. _"_ _If any spoken lines are written like this,"_ That means they are spoken through the minds of the characters

Please enjoy.

…

Amanda growled and wiped the sweat off her forehead as she stepped into the room with the space suits. She had just gotten in here after coming from the control room that was on fire, full of smoke, and if that wasn't bad enough, full of bloodthirsty aliens.

Well, there were only two or three, but still.

Avoiding one was bad enough. Trying to avoid more when they went in and out of the vents in a smoke filled room was asking for death. Especially since she had no flamethrower fuel left. She was lucky she hadn't been caught. Hell, she couldn't even tell if it was the same two or three aliens coming and leaving the room. All of those vicious beasts looked alike.

'Except for one,' she thought, but shook her head before that thought could progress any further.

'It doesn't matter,' she told herself, right hand throbbing slightly. 'That alien has been dead for a while. I don't care how tough these creatures are. None of them would survive being sucked into the gas giant.'

Now realizing that she had been standing near the doorway for a few seconds, Amanda shook her head again and approached the compartments where the suits were held. After quickly glancing around to make sure no enemies were nearby, she pulled the lever and opened the door of the case.

She took the helmet out and held it in her hands. She was about to put it on when a thick but watery substance dripped on the see-through glass. Amanda froze and looked up when a couple more drops of liquid splashed on the helmet's surface.

'No. Please no,' she thought.

But unfortunately for her, it was.

Above her, inside the vents, stood an alien in all its full glory. With teeth barred and a soft but threatening hiss escaping its throat, it looked absolutely murderous. Before Amanda could move a muscle, the alien grabbed her by the leg and pulled her into the vents.

She screamed and dropped the helmet while she tried to grab onto something, but wasn't able to due to the fact that she was thrown around like a rag doll. Amanda almost passed out with how many times her head was hit the sides of the vent, but somehow managed to stay conscious. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually the alien dropped down into a room and threw her to the ground.

Her vision swam and a pain-filled whimper escaped her lips as her head collided painfully with the floor, but somehow managed to fight the urge to pass out. She sat up and gritted her teeth, head pulsing as the edges of her vision turned black. After a few seconds, she attempted to get to her feet, but froze when a strangled hiss cut through the thick silence of the room.

Headache forgotten, Amanda was on her feet in an instant and whirled around to face the alien, who was simply observing her. She gulped and tried to make a break for it, but before she even took a step, the alien was blocking her path. With its arms outstretched, legs bent, and teeth bared as it hissed, it looked like it was about to pounce on her. With the memory fresh in her mind of others she had seen killed by the aliens, she was immediately backing away, but only managed to get so far before her back hit a wall.

She was cornered with nowhere to run.

She was going to die.

The alien, seemingly knowing that she wasn't going to try running again, returned to its normal posture and calmly walked towards her. Seeing the creature coming closer sent fear and panic coursing through her veins. Out of desperation, she tried to put more distance between them, but the wall prevented her from going anywhere. Once it was close enough to reach out and touch her, the alien stopped and stood in front of her.

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the pain to come, praying that the creature would make it quick. Surprisingly, she felt no tiny jaws piercing through her skull or sharp tails stabbing through her midsection. As far as she could tell, the alien hadn't moved at all. When she opened her eyes, sure enough, it was standing there staring at her, hissing softly. Almost like it was waiting for her to make the next move.

"What do you want from me?" she whispered. It was barely audible to her own ears, but somehow the creature heard it. Amanda had known for a while that these aliens were very intelligent, but she didn't think they could fully understand human speech. It surprised her greatly when it responded by tilting its head to the side and looking at her as if to say, 'Are you serious?' Her eyes narrowed.

"Well," she snapped. "Are you gonna kill me or are you gonna stare at me?"

Not the wisest decision to make when faced with one of these aliens, but she was probably dead anyway and wanted the creature to get it over with. The alien growled at her a little before turning to the side so she had a perfect view of its left arm. Still not understanding, Amanda raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

It gave her the, 'Are you serious?' look again before pointing to something on its upper arm. She had to step away from the wall and get a little closer, but she could now see a light grey scar that stood out painfully against its dark skin. Her eyes widened as understanding hit her full force.

"I…It's you," she whispered as her back hit the wall again. Memories of the medical bay flashed through her mind, as well as her encounter with the alien, and what she had done to give it that scar. She involuntarily glanced down at her right hand, which she swore was painfully throbbing again. When she turned her attention back to the alien, it was smiling at her. Or she thought it was smiling. It might just be baring its teeth at her again, she couldn't really tell.

But then how…

"How the hell are you still alive?" For the moment, Amanda forgot her fear. All she cared about was knowing how it managed to evade being sucked into the gas giant. The alien stayed still for a moment before closing the distance between them. Amanda squeaked at the sudden invasion of her personal space, but didn't dare make a move. Even when it leaned closer to her, all she did was shut her eyes.

Just like before, no inner jaws shoved through her skull. She only felt something smooth and cold press against her forehead. She opened her eyes to see the alien's head pressed against hers. Before she could question what it was doing, something sudden but excruciatingly painful tore into her head. It felt like electricity was running through her body and burning her brain from the inside out.

Amanda screamed and tried to push the alien away, but it pinned her arms and legs to the wall with its hands and tail. Her nails dug into the creature's arms, but if it felt any pain, it gave no indication. After a few short moments, the pain stopped and the alien let her go.

The second it wasn't holding her against the wall anymore, Amanda's legs gave out and she landed painfully on her rear. Whatever the alien had done, it had stolen her breath and turned her bones and muscles to jelly. Not to mention it left behind a nasty headache.

Thankfully, these side effects quickly faded away. As soon as she could move, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She heard shifting in front of her as the alien crouched down to her level.

'Now what does it want?' Amanda brought her eyes up and stared at the alien as it tilted its head again. But this time, instead of a look, she heard something like static from a radio. It didn't hurt, but was rather annoying. She tried to block it out by covering her ears and shaking her head, but the noise was still there. After a few seconds, the static cleared up a little and she could make out a couple words.

 _"_ _Hel…..Can…me?"_

'What the fuck?' she thought. The static came back, but didn't last nearly as long before more words were spoken.

 _"_ _Can you…me?"_

Amanda shivered a little. This was starting to scare her now. Who was that talking? There was no one here but her….

And the alien.

But that was impossible. Wasn't it?

This time, the static lasted for less than a second before it stopped and she heard the question clearly.

 _"_ _Can you hear me?"_

Now that she could clearly hear it, she could tell it was low pitched and definitely male. Amanda whimpered a little. This was absolutely freaking her out. _"_ _Y….Yes?"_ she thought, hoping she was doing this right. _"_ _Who's talking?"_

 _"_ _What do you mean, 'Who's talking?' I am right in front of you,"_ the voice demanded. Amanda froze as she stared at the alien in front of her. She couldn't believe it was actually…

"YOU CAN TALK?" she suddenly shouted. To her surprise, it seemed unfazed by her sudden outburst.

 _"_ _Yes, I can talk. And I would be appreciative if you would never call me an 'it'. I am a he."_ Amanda simply stared at the alien, having no idea how to react to this.

"H…How come I've never heard you before?" She blubbered out.

 _"_ _My kind can speak freely with one another through our minds. But in order to speak to a human, we have to establish a connection, for your minds are so closed off."_

"So I can talk to any member of your species?"

He shook his head. _"_ _No. Only me."_

Amanda thought for a moment. "Why connect with me at all?"

The alien gave her his degrading look again. _"_ _You asked how I escaped from the…gas giant as I have heard your species call it. Is it normal for your kind to forget things so easily?"_ Amanda bristled at the insult. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but took one look at his razor sharp claws and tail before deciding it was better for her health to let it go. She simply shook her head and allowed him to continue.

 _"_ _I managed to get the doors open, but by the time I did, you were long gone."_ He gave her a blank stare as his voice turned icy, and she found herself squirming under his gaze. _"_ _Luckily for you, when I found my way inside the station again, I was far away from you."_

Amanda's eyes widened at the alien's threatening words. Her curiosity abandoned in favor of fear as she tried to back away from him, only to be reminded that she was cornered with nowhere else to run. She tore her eyes away from his face and glanced at the scar on his arm.

'Of course he's still angry about that,' she chastised herself. 'And I probably pissed him off even more by launching him into space. Not to mention using the flamethrower on him multiple times.' Her body began to shake a little when she forced herself to look at him again. He was simply staring at her, but even with the blank expression, she could feel the intensity of his glare.

Amanda gulped as her body began visibly trembling with terror.

What was she supposed to do now?

Tell him how sorry she was?

Beg him not to kill her or ask him to make it quick?

Like that was gonna work.

Before she could decide, the alien hissed sharply at her, telling her that his patience was running thin.

"What are you gonna do to me?" Without even thinking, the question burst from her throat.

The voice inside her mind chuckled before he moved closer. She tried to move her head back, but it was quickly pressed against the wall. Before she could blink, the alien's head was right in front of hers. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, a last attempt to put more distance between their bodies, but it was all in vain.

Amanda whimpered when she felt him nuzzle her cheek in a mocking gesture. Then if that wasn't bad enough, he pulled his lips back and let his silver teeth rub against her neck, slightly drawing blood along with a loud shriek from Amanda as her nails dug into her palms.

To her relief, that only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled back. Cautiously opening her eyes, she watched him pull his lips back in a smirk again, teeth slightly stained with blood, obviously pleased at the fear he was instilling in her. He chuckled again before he pressed his palm against her cheek and turned her head towards him. His claws were digging into her, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to keep her still. His smirk disappeared as he gave her what could be described as a sincere look.

 _"_ _Why, I think we should pick up where we left off. It was so rude of me to leave in the middle of our meeting, I would like to make it up to you."_

The sarcasm was painfully obvious in his voice, but Amanda's eyes widened in terror all the same. She was shaking badly, and her mouth was so dry that it was hard to speak.

"No p…please. Whatever you want, it's yours. J…just not that. I'm begging you."

The alien simply ignored her pleas. _"_ _Do you want to know another reason why I allowed you to hear my voice? Because of our connection, I can hear your every thought as well as feel your emotions."_ He gave a pleasured growl at her fearful expression before continuing.

 _"_ _That means, while I am torturing you in ways you cannot imagine, I get to hear every pain filled thought while feeling your fear and agony wash over you."_ Amanda gasped and tried to get around him again, but he grabbed her arms and pinned her to the wall. He leaned closer until the tip of her nose rubbed against the cold skin of his face. _"_ _Shall we get started? My blood is roaring in anticipation."_

Amanda's eyes widened out of fear and she pressed herself more forcefully against the wall. She knew full well what the alien was thinking about doing to her. Despite not wanting to, she glanced down at his hand and winced softly as more flashbacks ran through her mind. She had been lucky to escape then, but it would take a miracle to get her out of this now.

He suddenly pulled back from her and let go of one of her arms as he held his hand up for her to see. His fingers dug into his palm and stopped just short of breaking the skin. Amanda began trembling, almost vibrating under the alien's scorching gaze.

She closed her eyes as tears nightmare spilled over her eyelids and ran down her cheeks. She hadn't managed to hold it together last time, and with everything that had happened between then and now, it had pushed her past her breaking point again. For the moment she forgot she wasn't alone, until the alien growled at her.

 _"_ _Look at me Amanda."_ Her eyes snapped open, surprised that he knew her name, but was quick to stop crying and obey.

His wide smirk had returned, and he looked more than ready to start. _"_ _I will give you a choice. Your arm, or your leg."_

She swallowed as his words echoed in her head. He really did want to pick up where they left off. But this time, it wouldn't be so short lived. He would torture her, make her suffer as much pain as he could before she took her last breath. Although she didn't want to, she forced herself to stare her future murderer in the face.

"Please no," she whimpered as one of her hands gently grasped his wrist before running her fingertips over his balled fist. _"_ _You don't have to do this,"_ her mind added.

His smirk turned into a frown before digging his claws into her arm, the tips breaking the skin and causing blood to trickle from the wounds. She yelped and let go of his fist to pull uselessly on his other hand. He stopped, but his claws remained buried in her flesh. His fist disappeared as all six fingers straightened out.

Her eyes misted and she shook her head when she realized what he was doing. _"_ _No. Please don't."_

 _"_ _If I get to zero, I will decide for you."_

A choked sob escaped Amanda's lips as she shook her head, fear overtaking her mind as the reality of what was about to happen set in.

 _"_ _Six."_

"No please. H...Have mercy," she begged.

One of his fingers went down. _"_ _Five."_

"God…n…no." Her voice was no more than a strangled whisper. She began crying again as she bowed her head before the alien, trying to look as submissive and pleading as possible.

Another finger went down. _"_ _Four."_

 _"_ _Anything else. I'm begging you, please."_ Sobs were wracking her frame now, making it impossible to speak out loud.

One more. _"_ _Three."_

Amanda screwed her eyes shut as her body shook violently in terror. His claws dug deeper into her arm, drawing fresh blood from already bloodied wounds.

A sharp hiss cut through her cries. _"_ _Two."_

Her eyes shut tighter as more sobs tore through her throat.

 _"_ _One."_

Just as most people's lives flashed before their eyes when they knew they were about to die, Amanda was suddenly hit with the memories of her and her mother back on Earth before she disappeared, as well as the recording that she had left for her. Thinking of her mother's voice calmed her down a bit. She thought of Samuels, Taylor, and Ricardo. People who she cared for or had done so much to help her through this hell, only to be rewarded with death. She even thought of the other humans on Sevastopol. Even if they managed to survive against the aliens or the androids, they would still die when the station…

'Yes, that's it!' Amanda's eyes flew open and she stared death in the face again. _"_ _Wait…"_

His final finger went down. _"_ _Zero."_

 _"_ _The station's gonna be torn apart!"_ She knew she'd reached him in time, for the alien immediately froze. He didn't move for a few seconds, but then got closer to her again.

 _"_ _What did you say?"_

Amanda couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. Although she could tell he didn't really believe her, she could detect an unexpected twinge of emotion in his voice.

Fear.

He was afraid.

Her smirk widened a little. _"_ _You heard me. The station will be torn to pieces, and everyone onboard will die along with it."_ He ground his teeth and growled at her, obviously not liking that look on her face, or the fact that she was threatening him now.

 _"_ _That is not true,"_ he finally said. _"_ _How would that be possible?"_

Despite knowing it wasn't a good idea, Amanda giggled at the alien's reaction. It was about time she got revenge on the slimy bastard for what he put her through. Maybe the terror had finally driven her mad.

 _"_ _Even if I explained, I don't think you would be able to understand the specifics."_

He was immediately in her face with his bloodied teeth bared and posed as if to bite. _"_ _Watch what you say to me,"_ he hissed, though Amanda didn't even feel threatened by it.

 _"_ _I am telling the truth. The station will be pulled into the gas giant's gravity well. Everyone will crushed and incinerated. Yours and my species alike."_ The alien closed his mouth and pulled back a little.

She didn't really know what he would do now, but she was hoping he would either let her go or quickly finish her off before leaving to look for a way out. To her surprise, he did none of these things. His lips pulled back into another grin before ripping his claws from her arm. A pained shriek left Amanda's lips as she clutched her bleeding arm.

 _"_ _Well then, I suppose you and I will be spending our final moments together."_ He leaned closer to her again. _"_ _But know this. Once I am done with you, you will regret coming here. Do you understand?"_

Her eyes widened in shock. "Y...You're fucking insane."

He only chuckled. _"_ _Maybe. But I am going to enjoy this."_ His fingers on his left hand stretched out before forming a fist again. _"_ _I get to decide which comes off first. And I choose…"_

 _"_ _No. Wait please. I…"_ she begged, but was cut off as the alien slapped her. Hard.

Her head slammed into the wall with a loud thump. Amanda's eyes rolled as her body began to go limp. Before she could succumb to the darkness, his claws were back in her arm, digging deeper in the already swelling wounds. She straightened up immediately and screamed in pain, now wide awake and pleading with him to stop. After a few seconds, he pulled his fingers away and hissed at her.

 _"_ _No more interruptions. Now I choose…"_

 _"_ _Please. What I have to say is important. I swear."_

He bared his teeth again and growled as he brought his blood soaked hand up to her face, resting it on her cheek and smearing the crimson liquid all over her in the process.

 _"_ _You really know how to make things worse for yourself, do you not?"_

Amanda shivered before continuing. Out loud. "What if I said I could get us both out of here? Alive." The alien stayed momentarily still before pulling his hand from her and letting it rest by his side. He stared at her for a few seconds before leaning in and invading her personal space again.

 _"_ _Continue,"_ was all that he said.

Amanda pursed her lips. "There's a ship here. And it's…" She paused for a moment as she searched for the correct words. As intelligent as he was, she didn't want to confuse him and make him think she was spouting nonsense. "…attached to the station," she finally clarified. "All I need to do is go outside and release it manually. Then we'd both be able to climb aboard and leave the station." He simply stared at her for well over a minute. His face may have remained blank and expressionless, but she could tell his mind was racing as he tried to decide whether to believe her or not.

Finally, his lips parted slightly as a soft hiss escaped from him. _"_ _That is why you were messing with those…outer layers earlier? So you could go outside?"_

Amanda didn't answer right away, but then realized he was referring to the space suits. "Yeah. Humans can't survive out there without them." This seemed to confuse him greatly, but he simply shook his head as he pulled back from her.

He hesitated for a second, but finally made up his mind. _"_ _Alright,"_ he said as he rose to his full height and backed away from her. _"_ _I accept your offer."_

She nodded before shakily getting to her feet. Once she had her balance, the alien turned from her and began walking in the opposite direction. Amanda made a move to follow, but stopped in her tracks as something crucial crossed her mind.

"Wait," she called to out to him. He turned around and stared at her.

Now that she wasn't fearing for her life, she noticed that right above his mouth, the skin there seemed to stretch over oval shaped bone, making him look like he had eyes underneath the skin. She had never noticed it before, but then again she'd never seen him under direct light. At the moment, the skin there looked like it was slightly pinched, making him look like his 'eyes' were narrowed.

 _"_ _What is it?"_ he asked, sounding agitated.

Amanda's own eyes narrowed as she meet his gaze. "You can come with me, on two conditions."

The alien slightly tilted his head before dryly chuckling and walking towards her. She felt a strong urge to back away, but forced herself to stand her ground.

 _"_ _You think I will let you tell me what to do?"_ he asked, stopping directly in front of her.

Her frown only deepened. "If you want to survive, then you will follow my rules." He growled a little but let her go on. "Condition one, you will not physically harm me, or anyone on the ship."

 _"_ _What makes you think they will not harm me?"_

"They'll listen to me. I'll explain everything to them." Or she hoped they would let her explain everything.

The alien stayed still for a moment before nodding. _"_ _Alright. What is your other...condition?"_

Amanda couldn't help but mentally snicker at the way he was acting. She could tell he was hating this.

"You're the only one that comes. No other alien is allowed on board the ship but you."

He seemed to hesitate greatly at this. She guessed that he didn't want to leave his other alien friends behind, but still. Trying to convince Verlaine to take him alone was likely to be impossible anyway. Trying to convince her to take multiple aliens on the other hand… Verlaine would probably try to eject them all out of the airlock.

A harsh growl from the alien broke her train of thought and brought her back to the present. He still seemed unsure but answered her regardless. _"_ _I accept your rules. I will not harm anyone, and I will be the only one accompanying you on the ship."_

Amanda nodded before looking up at the vent they had dropped out of. "First off, I need to get back to where I was before. Can you take me there?"

He started to say 'yes', but then looked up at the vent and then back to her. _"_ _You can travel through the…"_ Not knowing the proper word, he cut off.

"Vents?" she asked.

 _"_ _What?"_

"They're called vents," Amanda said, pointing to the one in the ceiling.

 _"_ _Yes, the vents. You can travel through them at a… decent speed. Right?"_

She took a sharp breath through her teeth as she shook her head. "Not really." The alien hissed softly before looking up at the vents, deep in thought. Amanda stared at him, pondering what to do. Thanks to the tubes on his back, he couldn't give her a piggy back ride. And there was no way she was letting him drag her through the vents again. More than likely, she would pass out on the way back. But they had to figure something out. It might take too long for her to crawl through the vents with him.

 _"_ _I have an idea,"_ he suddenly said. She broke her train of thought and looked up at him, relieved that he managed to think of something.

"What is it?" Now that she was focusing on him again, she noticed that he looked rather uncomfortable.

Instead of answering, he simply grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. Amanda froze for a moment then tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he tightened his grip on her and gave her a look that made her rethink her actions.

 _"_ _Wrap your arms around my neck,"_ he instructed.

She still didn't understand what he was trying to do, but did as he asked, though it was awkward because she had to bend her wrists and hands over the elliptical shoulder spikes on both sides of his head. He let go of her arm and let his hands rest on her waist, still keeping her pressed against him. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment and she tried to squirm away again, but a sharp growl from him was enough to make her stop.

 _"_ _I am not enjoying this anymore than you are."_

Amanda glared at him. "Then why the hell are you doing this?" she demanded.

He gave her his, 'Are you serious?' look again. _"_ _We will travel through the vents this way. You will have to hold on to me."_

It took a moment, but it finally sunk in. Now she was getting what he was trying to do. But there was still one problem.

"What about my legs?" she asked.

The alien simply stared at her. He didn't know what to do about that either. Then, Amanda had an idea. She didn't want to do it, but she couldn't think of anything else.

"I know what to do," she said.

He nodded at her, telling her to go ahead. With that, she jumped up and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, making sure their bodies were pressed firmly together. She also adjusted her arms so that they wrapped around him and grasped the tubes on his back with her hands instead of wrapping around his neck. "You can go now."

The alien tilted his head. _"_ _Are you sure you can hold on?"_

Amanda grinded her teeth in frustration. "Yes. Just go." She paused for a moment. "Are you sure you know the way?"

He growled at her a little. _"_ _Yes. I am not stupid."_

She had to bite back a sarcastic remark at that, not wanting to piss him off. He let go of her waist and launched them both into the air, grabbed hold of the vent, and climbed inside.

Amanda had told the alien she could hold on to him. She was telling the truth, but it was easier said than done. When he was standing still, it took little effort on her part to hold on. When he was crawling through the vents on his hands and knees, she was lucky she hadn't fallen off. His knees were constantly hitting the back of her thighs and butt cheeks, which forced her to tighten her grip on his waist, causing her crotch to be squashed uncomfortably against his armored belly. She was also glad she hadn't kept her grip on his neck, otherwise his arms would be constantly bumping into hers as well.

Plus, since he wasn't standing up straight anymore, every movement he made caused her body to swing back and forth, regardless if she was pressed against him or not. She had to keep moving her arms and legs to insure they didn't slide off or let go of him. He didn't like her constantly adjusting her limbs or pulling on him, if his annoyed grunts and growls were anything to go by, but what was she supposed to do? After a few minutes, though it felt like eternity for Amanda, the alien dropped down into the room with the space suits.

The second he was standing upright again, Amanda was ripping herself away from him and standing on her own two feet. Her face was still bright red with embarrassment. Feeling her body pressed against his cold, hard flesh was still sending shivers down her spine. After a few seconds, she leveled her eyes on him.

"We never do that again," she stated flatly.

 _"_ _Agreed,"_ was all that he said.

Amanda sighed before turning back to suits. She picked up the helmet that she had dropped and commenced putting it on as well as the suit, all the while the alien was watching her curiously. Once she had it on, she turned back to him, only to be met with mocking laughter echoing in her head.

Her eyebrows pinched together. "What's so funny?" This only made him laugh harder as her frown deepened.

 _"_ _You look so strange and bulky in that thing. And your voice…"_

Amanda growled. "Well I can't go outside otherwise. What, did you think these suits were for display?"

His laughter died down a little at that. _"_ _I may have,"_ he said, chuckling at the look on her face.

She shook her head before turning towards the airlock. "We can do this later. Right now we should get going." Upon being reminded of why they were there, the alien sobered up and followed Amanda into the airlock. He stood beside her as the door shut behind them, and waited until the one in front of them opened up.

At this point, she took the lead and led him to the elevator. It took a little bit of coaxing, but when he was finally beside her again, she pushed the button and they ascended. He hissed a little at the sudden movement, but otherwise didn't do anything. When they reached the top, Amanda took the lead again and they began the long trek to the Torrens.

After a minute had passed, the alien let out a loud, annoyed hiss. _"_ _This is taking too long,"_ he said as he came up behind her. Before she could ask what he was doing, the alien had picked her up and was holding her, bridal style, in his arms. She kicked and squirmed at him, demanding that he put her down, but his grip only tightened.

 _"_ _We will get there quicker this way. Tell me where to go."_ After a few seconds, Amanda sighed in defeat and pointed him in the direction they needed to go.

Even though she hated being carried around by him, they were moving much faster this way. Eventually, they came across a transportation cart. This time the alien boarded without any protest, and with a push of a button, they were on their way to the other side.

On the way, Amanda couldn't help but wonder how the alien was holding up right now. She knew he was strong, far stronger than a human, but it had to put some strain on his arms to be carrying her around like this. Not that she herself was overly heavy, but the suit wasn't exactly light.

 _"_ _You are wrong,"_ he suddenly said, sarcastically sounding tired and rundown. _"_ _Your body mass is so great, I will need to rest for days after this."_

Amanda's face turned an embarrassed shade of bright crimson before striking him in the face.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled. "IF YOU EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO ME AGAIN, I'LL SHOVE MY PISTOL UP YOUR ASS. YOU MOTHERFUCKER."

A feral growl tore through his throat. She'd really pissed him off now. Realizing what she'd just done, she quieted down and apologized. He looked like he wanted to say, or more likely, do something to her, but at that moment the cart came to a stop.

The alien quickly exited, but instead of going in the direction she pointed to, he walked over to the side of the platform and held Amanda over the edge. She panicked and gripped onto him for dear life, begging him not to drop her. After a few seconds, he pulled her back into his arms, but turned her so she was facing him.

The alien bared his teeth. _"_ _If you ever physically assault me again, you will find yourself floating in space."_ He paused for a moment. _"_ _Without your suit."_ Amanda was quickly nodding her understanding and apologizing again.

To her relief, he finally turned and went in the direction she had pointed out earlier. A long set of stairs stood in their way, but with his speed, they were at the top in no time. When they approached the release mechanisms, he put her down and let her do what she needed to do. In under a minute, she had primed the mechanisms and blown the emergency release bolts, effectively releasing the Torrens. Amanda beckoned the alien to follow her again and they both entered the ship through the airlock.

Her first thought when they stood inside the ship was that something was wrong. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't heard Verlaine's voice in a while. For some reason, the woman had gone silent since she'd been in the upper control room. This worried her greatly.

"Verlaine. Are you there?" she asked through her radio. "Please answer me." Suddenly, the alien grabbed her and pulled her behind him. A loud and surprised shriek left her lips to which he responded by hissing in her face.

 _"_ _Be quiet,"_ he growled. Amanda glared at him for scaring her, wanting to ask him what his problem was. Though something about his tone made her straighten up and remain silent.

She wanted to ask him out loud, but sent to him instead. _"_ _What's wrong?"_

He growled low in his throat as a response. _"_ _Some of my kind have been here,"_ he finally said.

Her eyes widened in alarm, but as she looked around, she couldn't see any sign of an alien's presence; not counting the one beside her.

 _"_ _H…How do you know that?"_

He simply pointed to something on the floor. It was hard to see it against the white floor, but she could see a puddle of a clear, sticky substance. 'Shit. It can't be.' She tried to contact Verlaine through the radio again, but a sharp growl from the alien cut her off.

 _"_ _I thought I told you to be quiet,"_ he hissed.

Amanda's eyes narrowed. _"_ _Well what are we supposed to do? What about Verlaine?"_ When he tilted his head in confusion, she clarified, _"_ _The ship's Captain."_ He still seemed confused. _"_ _Look I'll explain it to you later. We don't have the time right now."_

He stared at her for a moment longer before taking her by the arm and pulling her deeper into the ship. _"_ _If we run into any of my kin, act like a terrified prisoner. Let me do all the talking. Do not speak. Just follow me."_

She nodded and allowed him to lead her around. After ten minutes, they had searched everywhere but the bridge. They found no signs that a fight had taken place, but still no Verlaine or Connor. This both relieved and worried Amanda.

When they finally got to the bridge, she prepared herself for the worst, but she knew that no amount of mental preparation could ready her to see their bloodied corpses. Even the alien was doing some preparation of his own. He had let go of her arm and was crouched down, ready in case he needed to defend himself. Knowing that torturing herself by putting it off wouldn't make it any better, she took one final breath to steel herself against the horrors as the alien ran into the room with her close behind. And what she saw was…

…absolutely nothing.

To her great surprise, there were no corpses in the room or a drop of blood in sight. It didn't even look like anything had happened in there. For a moment she felt relieved, but that quickly disappeared as harsh reality set in.

"Verlaine," she called out, ignoring the alien's glare. "Are you there?" Nothing. No response, just complete silence.

 _"_ _I sense nothing nearby,"_ he informed her. _"_ _And we already looked everywhere. There is no one here but us."_ He said it so casually, as if it meant nothing, but Amanda hung her head in sadness all the same. She hadn't really cared for Verlaine and she'd never spoken to Connor, but she was hoping that someone familiar had made it out alive.

She had refused to acknowledge the feeling before, but now she felt more alone than ever. She glanced towards the way that they came. After all that she'd been through, she thought she would know better, but maybe they were still…

A cold, six fingered hand brought her out of her thoughts as it turned her head to face its owner. Even though he didn't have eyes like a human, she could still feel something watching her every time he looked at her. _"_ _We cannot. You know they have been impregnated by now."_

Amanda swallowed. She knew full well what he meant. Going into the alien hive had shown her what they did with their captives.

'No matter what we do now, they are still going to die. _'_

Even though it practically killed her inside, she nodded and turned away from him as she sat in Verlaine's chair. With a push of a few buttons, the Torrens roared to life and flew forward, leaving Sevastopol behind. When that was done, she stood up and faced the alien again, who for some reason was looking at her impatiently.

 _"_ _Are we going to leave?"_

She cocked her head in response. "We are leaving."

He hissed a little. _"_ _No we are not. I have brought you this far, now you fulfil your end of the deal."_

Amanda's eyes narrowed at his ignorance. She was in no mood for this and he was starting to piss her off. With a loud sigh, she beckoned the alien forward and walked towards the back of the ship. "Follow me."

 _"_ _Why?"_

"I will show you that we are moving."

He hesitated, but followed her without question. Once they reached the back, Amanda pointed the alien to a large window. Through that window, they could see the station drifting further away from them. She tried to give him an 'I told you so' look, but he was no longer paying attention to her. Instead he stepped forward and placed his hands on the glass, his head turned slightly to the side and mouth agape.

He looked so much like a curious cat that Amanda quietly giggled at the sight before leaving the room to remove her space suit. When she returned, he was still staring out the window, his tail twitching slightly and dragging itself across the floor. She made great care to step over it before approaching his side.

"What is it? You haven't seen space before?"

The alien jumped at the sound of her voice, apparently he hadn't heard her leave or come back in, but quickly relaxed and turned his attention back to Sevastopol. _"_ _I have seen the outside, just not the whole station."_ His attention turned back to her for a brief second. _"_ _Where is your suit?"_

Amanda shrugged. "I took it off." There was silence for a few seconds. "It's amazing. Isn't it?" He only gave a low-toned hiss. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that so she remained silent.

Both of them stood there, silently gazing at the space station. With debris flying all around and constant explosions that wracked its structure, it looked like it was ready to fall apart. For nearly an hour, both Amanda and the alien watched Sevastopol grow smaller and smaller, until the station lit up like a match and began to disappear.

 _"_ _What is happening?"_ the alien asked.

Amanda swallowed past the lump in her throat before answering. "The station is being pulled into the gas giant." She briefly glanced at him before turning back to Sevastopol. "That big glowing ball behind the station."

As soon as she was finished speaking, the station disappeared into the gas giant and silently exploded. A huge rift of gas and dust appeared before settling down again. Now there was no longer any trace of Sevastopol, only flying debris that would either be pulled into the gravity well or lost in space.

There was silence for a few moments. _"_ _It is gone."_ She didn't know why she thought he sounded sad.

Amanda only nodded her head in acknowledgement. She stared at the now empty space were Sevastopol used to be before turning from the window and leaving the room. Without glancing back at the alien, she made her way to the control room again. Once there, she set a course for Earth then sat back in her chair, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now.

Or more specifically, what to do with the alien.

He couldn't go back to Earth with her. Even if she wanted to, she would never be able to hide him, at least not for long. The company would surely keep a close eye on her after what happened at the space station. They wanted some live aliens, and if they thought she could lead them to some, she wouldn't even be safe on her own home planet. Perhaps she could find some nearby world and drop him off before returning to Earth on her own.

' _I can't let it live. And I'm not letting the Company have it or they'll just start the whole thing over again.'_ The speech Marlow gave on his ship suddenly came to mind. She agreed with him, although at the time she didn't think it was necessary to blow up the ship and the station. She had wanted to handle it in a way where more humans could walk away alive.

God, she was so stupid then. If only she'd simply let Marlow overload the reactor, then at least it would be over.

All the horrible things she'd seen and done were starting to come back to her now, beginning to take its toll. What was it called? Survivor's guilt? She definitely had that. She'd never forget the fear and stress she was forced put up with these past few hours. More than likely, all she'd be able to think about for the next few decades were all those people she killed. Their blood staining the walls and floor when she shot them in the face with one of her guns, or in a few instances, her hands when she beat them to death with the maintenance jack.

Christ she just… she didn't want to suffer anymore.

 _"_ _What do you mean by suffer?"_

Oh god. Not now.

"Do you not know what suffer means?" Amanda asked, inwardly groaning as she stood up.

A soft growl answered her question. _"_ _Let me word that differently. How are you still suffering? You are not in danger anymore."_

For a few long seconds, Amanda remained in a stunned silence. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that the aliens were cruel and sadistic, but this was just…

"How could I not be suffering?" she hissed. "I'm gonna remember this for the rest of my life." By now she could feel anger boiling in her blood. Did these beasts truly have no concept of morality?

Honestly, she wasn't surprised when he tilted his head. _"_ _Why does it matter if you do? They tried to kill you, so they deserve what they got."_ Then he gave her a scrutinizing look. _"_ _Humans. Always latching on to such trivial things."_

Oh no. He did not just say that.

Amanda's nails dug into her palms. She felt like a volcano ready to explode. "There's that. And there's the fact that your kind are all heartless bastards," she growled, voice rising slightly with every word.

A harsh snarl tore through his throat as he approached her, teeth bared and ready to bite. _"_ _You will watch what you say…"_

"Why the fuck should I?" she interrupted. "Give me one good reason."

 _"_ _You are testing my patience, you little…"_

"FUCK YOU," she yelled. "FUCK YOU AND ALL YOUR KIND."

Amanda didn't have time to blink before he grabbed her arm and flung her into the wall. Her shoulder collided with it painfully before she sunk to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and crying out as she did so. She heard his footsteps come closer before his hand tangled itself in her hair and slammed her head into the ground. Not hard enough to knock her out, but still hard enough to hurt. Badly.

Her eyes shut even tighter from the pain in her shoulder and head. She could feel the alien above her, hissing angrily as hot drool coated her neck. Thanks to being at such a close proximity, she heard his jaws creak open before his inner mouth shot out and clamped down on her neck. Amanda screamed, thinking it was all over, that she would be killed just like the others.

'Oh mom. If you can hear this… I'm so sorry.'

To her surprise, instead of ripping a hole in her throat, the alien's inner mouth retracted and he pulled back, only leaving stinging and slightly bleeding cuts in her neck, while still straddling her midsection. After a few seconds, she cautiously opened one eye to see that he was staring at her. Seeing that he, hopefully, wasn't going to kill her, she opened both eyes and turned her head towards him.

 _"_ _That was a warning,"_ he said, getting a little too close for her liking again. _"_ _Next time you decide to insult me or my kind, know that I will follow through. Do you understand?"_

After a few quick nods of her head, he stood and backed away, allowing her to rise to her feet and inspect the cuts with her fingers. They weren't deep, and had already stopped bleeding, thank god. Her arm though, was another story. It too had stopped bleeding, but the wounds were deeper and would need to be disinfected and bandaged. Wonderful.

'Did he really have to do that?' She thought bitterly, aches spreading throughout her body. 'A simple warning would've been good enough.'

 _"_ _You think you are in pain now?"_

Amanda's eyes widened in shock. She had forgotten, again, that he could dig into her mind and hear her private thoughts whenever he wanted. "Could you stop that?" she hissed. "You're invading my privacy."

The alien only shook his head. Of course he wasn't going to make this easy. After a few moments of silence passed, she realized he was still waiting for an answer to his question. "And yes. I am in pain. A lot of it, thanks to you."

He had the nerve to look pleased with himself. _"_ _Good."_ He paused for a moment. _"_ _You should be thanking me right now. After I showed you such mercy."_

She was starting to head towards the bedrooms, but stopped in her tracks when she heard his words. "What do you mean 'mercy'?"

He shook his head and chuckled at her. _"_ _Foolish human. Had I thrown you with all my strength, your bones would be shattered right now."_

Amanda simply stared at him, icy cold fear clouding her mind. He was powerful no doubt, much more powerful than her. But still… "No," she whispered, unable to believe it. "You're lying."

His smirk returned. _"_ _Would you like me to demonstrate?"_

Her eyes widened as she backed away from him, arms outstretched and shaking her head. "N…No. I don't need to…"

The rest of the words stuck in her throat when he pressed close to her body and backed her against the wall. She started shaking again, not that she could help it when he was standing in front of her like that, powerful and intimidating as he was, it would terrify anyone.

 _"_ _What was that, Amanda?"_

"H…How do you know my name?" As if that was relevant right now.

He gave her a pointed stare. _"_ _I asked you a question and I expect an answer."_

Of course. "N…no," she whispered, struggling to speak. "I'll take your word for it."

The alien smirked at her, but then his body went completely rigid. The sadistic smile disappeared as he adopted a more blank expression while he stared at her. For a few moments, neither of them moved, his gaze burning into her while she had no idea what was going on.

"What the hell are you…?"

She was cut off when he suddenly screeched in her face, barring his inner jaws and snapping it centimeters in front of her forehead. Amanda screamed just as loud and threw up her arms to protect herself. She heard him back away, but instead of pain, she only heard mocking laughter echoing in her head. Taking yet another risk, she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see him pointing and laughing at her again.

 _"_ _Like I said, foolish human. I guess I can add gullible to the list as well."_ With one last chuckle, he turned and sauntered away, going to the window near the front of the ship.

Amanda almost couldn't believe it.

Was he going to do this often; jumping out of nowhere and scaring her to death like that?

'Why I 'otta…' She forced herself to stop that thought in its tracks.

He was really pissing her off, but she wasn't stupid, and she didn't want to give him a reason to gut her. Though if she really wanted to prevent that, she would have to constantly keep a lockdown on her thoughts. Great.

 _"_ _At least you are not as idiotic as the other humans I have encountered."_ He gave a harsh chuckle. _"_ _One screams and the rest come running. Though I suppose it makes my job easier."_

Amanda only glared at the ground. She could tell he was trying to bait her, but she wasn't going to risk doing anything he might find offensive.

'Their cruelty knows no bounds,' she thought, a lone tear making its way down her cheek. Out of everything, second only to killing other people, going through the alien hive was the worst. Seeing all those people, hearing their screams as…

She shook her head before that thought went any farther. No need to think about that.

With one last sigh, she turned and exited the control room. Almost immediately, she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

 _"_ _Where are you going?"_ he asked.

Amanda stopped in her tracks. "I'm going to bed."

The alien cocked his head. _"_ _What does that mean?"_

"It means I'm going to sleep," she quickly answered, allowing irritation to seep into her tone. Then, to her surprise, he shrugged and backed away.

 _"_ _Alright. I will see you in a little while."_ With that, he turned and went back to the control room.

Amanda on the other hand watched the door shut behind her before turning away and walking towards the bunk rooms, her bones practically screaming for rest.

…

He listened to the sound of her footsteps grow softer until he could hear them no more. Once he was sure the human would not be turning around, he returned to examining the room with abundant curiosity. The alien wondered what all these strange devices could be for and wanted to poke and prod at them, but did not want to risk making his situation any worse than it already was.

Once he had finished inspecting the room and everything in it, he went back to the front window and simply stared at the outside. After a while, though he tried not to, he found his thoughts were once again aimed at that human. Amanda, as he had heard other humans calling her.

He remembered when he had first seen her. She had been trying to open a door with that metal stick of hers, but then one of her kind had snuck up behind her and held one of those loud, metal weapons to her head. The alien did not think she would be worth much, therefore left her to her fate at the hands of the male human, only to be proven wrong when he saw them together later.

Deciding that maybe she was worth something after all and may provide good sport in the near future, he gave her a little scare, his own special way of saying, "Welcome to Sevastopol." It had more than delighted him to watch her whimpering and crying over her now dead companion.

Later on, he heard loud noises and came to investigate. There he found her again. She was trying to hide from him, but he had already seen her. Once again, he made the choice to scare instead of killing her. He heard her quiet gasps as he flung his tail over the metal structure, twisting it and making her squirm to avoid it. Once he pulled back, he had exited the room, making sure to show off while doing so since he knew she was watching him.

 _'_ _She is quite foolish,'_ He thought to himself. Once he had left her, he returned to an upper level where he found three more humans, armed and dangerous with intentions to kill anyone they did not know. Had he not dealt with them, they would most likely have gotten her since she ran into the room, making as much noise as humanly possible.

Once again, she watched him from above as he slaughtered all three of them. After they were dead, he went back into the vents. The second he disappeared from her sight, she ran to the lower level and began messing around with one of those moving rooms.

 _"_ _Consider yourself lucky human,"_ he had sent to her, though he knew she did not hear him when she stepped inside the room and disappeared. _The next time we meet, you will not be leaving alive."_

And she did not. Or she would not have if he had gotten ahold of her. From that point on, it seemed as though she was finally realizing her mistakes. He heard nothing from her again until he found and hunted for her in the strange place referred to as the medical bay, as he had overheard others calling it.

And the only reason he knew it was her was because he had almost grabbed her, but she had gone into another room and somehow made it so the door would not open before disappearing from his sight. By the time the door finally did open, he could not find her anywhere. (Later on, he learned that humans sometimes hid in those large, metal boxes around Sevastopol, and decided that she must have been in there.)

He kept trailing her, using the little noise she made to track her down and corner her. She had run into another room, trying to escape the other humans, only to have him drop down in front of her. He crawled over to her, but she jumped back and ended up falling on her rear.

Being absolutely pleased with the way events were playing out, he stood to his full height and slowly stalked towards her, trying to stretch the moment out for as long as possible. His kind might have thought him foolish, standing straight up and leaving himself more vulnerable, but to her, as he could see it in her eyes, it only served to terrify her more.

She had gotten up and tried to open the door, but it had locked itself behind her. He remembered she had turned to face him and backed up as much as she could, trying to find a way around him, but there was none. Once he had gotten within striking distance, he stopped and stared at her, wanting to observe her fear for a few moments longer, his inner beast feeding off of it.

Then, quicker than he thought her capable of, she buried a strange object in his arm, pushing down until the metal disappeared. Immediately, she recoiled when some of his blood landed on the back of her hand. Big mistake on her part. In seconds she was on the ground, back against the wall with a huge, red handprint on the side of her head from where he had hit her.

He recalled closing the distance between them, snarling viciously as what was left of her weapon clattered to the ground, the metal completely melted away. He grabbed her throat in one hand and pressed her more forcefully against the wall, choking her in the process. While she was busy gasping for air, he brought his other hand up to examine the wound.

It was not life threatening, but it was deep. Yellow-green blood was gushing from his arm and landing on the floor, leaving burning, smoking holes in its wake. He might have simply strangled her, had he not seen her staring at the floor, watching as his blood easily dissolved it into nothing.

The fear in her eyes was absolutely delicious, stirring up the animal deep inside him again. That particular emotion was something his kind loved to instill in their victims, and he was no exception. If she had not let that emotion show, in his anger he would have kept his grip on her throat, feeling it give way more and more until he had severed it from her shoulders. But now, seeing it written again on her face and in her eyes, he wanted more.

He wanted more fear. He wanted more time to watch her wear it like those outer skins. He wanted her in pain, no, in _absolute agony_. He wanted blood. Not a little, but _a lot_.

And he knew how to get exactly what he wanted.

With her fate decided, he took his hand off her throat and allowed her to breathe. Immediately she was taking in huge gulps of air, all while coughing violently, trying to make up for what she had lost. He took pleasure in seeing the marks he had left on the pale skin of her neck. When her breathing was somewhat back to normal, he let out a vicious hiss, causing her to completely halt her movements. Apparently she had forgotten about him due to the lack of oxygen.

She was looking up at him now, and he bared his teeth, grinning back at her, enjoying it even more when she shrank against the wall. Fear rolling off her in waves, she watched in absolute terror as he brought his blood soaked hand closer to her body. The human tried to dart around him, but he grabbed her and forced her back down with his other hand.

Her shrieks and whimpers got louder as he brought his hand closer to her chest, nearly brushing the heaving, protruding swells with it. She stifled her breathing, not wanting her movements to cause her chest to touch his hand. He was just readying himself to hear her screams when she, as if she could sense what he was thinking, grabbed his wrist and pushed it away from her. Surprised and not expecting her to do something so bold, she managed to push it a small distance away. A very small distance before he flexed and halted the movement.

Growling and snarling in displeasure, he snapped his inner mouth at her. She had to throw her head back against the wall to avoid the strike, but she kept her grip on his wrist. Until a moment later, when her eyes began to roll into the back of her head. The alien recognized what was happening and slapped her awake. Now annoyed and impatient, he waited until he had her attention again before bringing his hand up again.

This time though, he pointed to his hand. Then he gestured towards her head, or her chest.

She understood almost immediately, for she was instantly shaking her head, crying even harder while feebly bringing up her hands to protect her chest and head. The alien let out a series of high pitched hisses, slightly amused now.

Did she really think she could protect herself by covering her body further?

Foolish human. She was just like all her kind, and she would die along with them. Still, it had been fun while it lasted.

In the next moment, he grabbed her wrists and suspended them above her head with his left hand, bringing his right close to her chest again. She had started screaming then, along with her crying, terror ringing clearly in her voice.

"Please stop! Let me go!"

His version of a laugh came again, and he came a little closer, just to see what she would do.

The reaction was immediate. "NO, NO NONONONONO!" Her words cut off then, now too afraid to even scream, or to do anything but cry. Soft, harsh, and ugly cries echoed around the two as he came just a little closer again.

The human was shaking now, so hard that she was vibrating in his grip. The salty liquid from her eyes fell from her chin and landed on his hand. A soft sizzling was heard as the acid melted it away.

Her eyes shut tight, but she did not struggle. It seemed she had completely given up. The thought brought a grin to his muzzle, as he slowly moved his hand forward. His blood had dried some, but was still capable of melting human flesh. Hopefully it would be slow. That was exactly what he was…

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

The sound of screaming, her screaming, tore the alien from his thoughts. And before he knew it, without even thinking, he was running towards the sound.


	2. Chapter 2

**Be warned, this chapter takes a creepy turn.**

' _Which way?'_ The alien hissed to himself, running through the shiny silver halls of the Torrens, trying to find where Amanda was. She was still screaming, begging to be let go from whatever had her in its clutches.

Had he been wrong?

Was there something on this ship besides the two of them?

Following the sound, he finally came to a door. Behind it, he could hear Amanda. But because he was going so fast, he had to dig his feet into the floor to keep from slamming into the door, as he had accidentally done once or twice in the past. For a moment he stood there, waiting for the door to open. To his irritation, it did not. The alien growled and flexed his claws, getting ready to tear the thick metal apart. Just as he was about to dig in, the door began to open. Annoyed and impatient beyond belief, he ducked under the door before it was finished opening and ran into the room.

Quickly coming to the middle of the small space, the alien opened his maw and let out a ferocious roar, hoping to draw whatever was attacking Amanda away and lure it towards him. Her screams still continued, and he charged towards them. Near the back of the room, over on the right, was movement inside a small space cut into the wall.

He was there in the next moment, reaching out a hand and grabbing the thing struggling with Amanda. The creature fought against the alien's grip, and in response he pulled back and threw it against the wall. Though instead of a loud thump and the sound of a body hitting the floor, the thing only collapsed on the floor with a soft rustle.

Momentarily confused, he cocked his head and studied the strange thing for a moment, only to discover that it was not a creature at all. In fact, it looked like a huge piece of fabric, similar to what the humans wore to cover their fragile body structures.

He turned back to Amanda, who was still screaming and fighting against a nonexistent foe. A soft, perplexed hiss escaped his mouth as he approached her side. There was nothing there, yet she yelled and struggled as if she was fighting for her life. And her eyes, he noticed, were squeezed shut, which only confused him further.

How could she be fighting if she could not see?

And what was she fighting? There was nothing there.

He stood pondering for a few moments.

' _Is she still asleep?'_ he wondered. _'That might be it. Then why…'_

Pushing the thought aside, he reached out and grasped her shoulder with his hand. Her response was to screech and bat his hand away, now struggling with him instead of an imaginary enemy. Growling in irritation, he climbed into the space with her and pinned her down underneath him, effectively immobilizing her.

Amanda fought even harder, twisting her limbs while bucking violently, trying to get him off her. She was screaming even louder too, if that was possible. After a minute or so, she gave up and went limp underneath him, soft cries escaping her quivering mouth every so often. Taking advantage of her stillness, the alien took the opportunity to adjust his grip on her arms, as he had been nearly to the point of digging his claws in to keep them still.

He observed her, trying once again to figure out what was going on, but gave up after a few minutes of thinking provided nothing but more questions. With an irritated hiss, he glanced back behind him, where his legs pinned the human's on the soft material underneath them. Without a second thought, the alien allowed his right leg to slide off Amanda's left. She was calm now, so maybe if he slowly backed away, she would remain that way until her eyes opened again.

No such luck. Before he could even set his knee down, she was fighting again. This time though, caught off balance with one leg in the air and the other in an awkward position, Amanda managed to throw him off her.

He hit the ground beneath him. The sudden impact of the hard surface against his arm and side paralyzed him momentarily, but was on his feet the instant he recovered. The alien snarled, teeth barred and saliva dripping from his jaws. Claws flexing, he advanced towards Amanda's side again, whom was now curled tightly into a corner of the small space she was laying on.

The alien forced himself to freeze just as he was about to attack her. Muscles flexing to keep him still, he forced his instincts down and slowly backed away. He snarled again and tried to relax, but that was easier said than done. Though his deep, inner fighting instincts told him to tear her apart, his head spoke differently.

He needed her, as much as he hated to admit it, having no idea how this…metal ship worked or how to control it, but she did. And until he found some other world to live on, she was his best chance at survival. The alien let out another low growl before settling down beside her again, glaring hatefully at her curled up form. After a minute or so, he turned his head away and glared at the wall instead.

Now that he was just sitting there, his mind was drawn back to the others, the ones he left behind. Guilt rose and lashed out as he thought of them. Though in a way, he was not part of them anyway.

He had always been different than others of his kind. The odd one out. The alien among aliens. The human in one of their kind's bodies, as some had even taunted him. Where the others had wanted to capture _all_ the humans and use them as hosts as soon as possible, he preferred to observe them from the vents and only use _some_ of them as hosts.

Emotions put distance between himself and his siblings. Their species were only supposed to have limited emotions and feelings. They worked for the good of the hive. They gathered hosts for their young and kept the hive in order, only two among many other responsibilities. Their anger, hatred, and ambition drove them to do what needed to be done. Other emotions did nothing for them or got in their way, therefore were looked down upon, as well as anything who dared indulge in it.

He was a different story. He watched from the vents, observing the humans and trying to satisfy his curiosity. Their lifestyle intrigued him, and he yearned to know everything about it. He had watched more than a few. Males and females alike. When they were alone, with close companions, in large groups. He had learned a lot from them, and therefore was the best at hunting them. Not one human was exactly alike, so he knew better than to expect any specific patterns from more than one human, or sometimes there was no pattern at all. Some hid, some ran, some fought, and some hid behind or used others to preserve their own lives for a few seconds later.

Because of this, he was responsible for bringing over half their population into existence. He was sure it was the only thing that kept him alive.

He had tried to explain himself in the past, like why it was important to learn from their prey, to adapt. But those who would listen numbered at less than five in a hive of hundreds. And, as he learned later, they stopped listening soon after the teasing, humiliation, harassment, and accusations started. All of them turned against him in the end, and made sure to make a public announcement about whose side they were on.

His claws dug into the floor as he recalled the memory, teeth grinding together to the point that he thought they would break. The very few that he thought were his friends had convinced him to follow them from his private nest, claiming that they had something interesting to show him. He should have at least questioned it when they ended up inside the hive, and he really should have left once they reached the center where he found everyone else had been waiting for them, but he did not, because he actually trusted them.

It happened so fast after that. Once second everything was fine, the next his so called 'friends' were verbally attacking him without restraint. He tried to leave immediately after he realized what was going on, but some of the other spectators restrained him before he could. They were ruthless, calling him names that he had been forced to deal with since his birth. It hurt even more coming from the ones he had trusted, and they knew it.

" _WEAK,"_ one yelled.

" _COWARD,"_ shouted another _._

" _HUMAN-LOVER_ ," the last one screeched at him, standing only centimeters away. So close but too far to hit with his inner jaws.

It went on forever. Eventually the other spectators joined in. Now all he could hear were the insults they threw at him, so loud that his head hurt from the intensity of it. It dug into his mind, into any sanity he might have had left, driving him nearly insane with pain, anger, and sadness. After a long while, they stopped, and he collapsed from the shock of it all. The only thing that kept him up were the ones who were restraining him before.

They drug him outside the hive and threw him to the ground. The others were grinning at him, the idea of him broken down and suffering like the hosts they captured feeding their inner beasts. That was what they did after all, feed off the suffering of others. Eventually most turned away and left the area, until only his former friends remained.

" _Why?" he asked them._

" _Because,"_ one answered _. "You are not like us."_

" _We are of the same race,"_ he argued _._

" _We are,"_ another replied _. "But you are far too flawed to be accepted. From your abundance of emotions to…"_ his tormentor said, pausing to glance at the soft spot between his legs, something that their race were not supposed to have. _"You know…The mistake in your genetics."_

He was torn from the memory when Amanda let out a low, pain filled moan. At that moment, he found himself not wanting to know what the cause was, like he would normally. He was to overcome with negative feelings to care about anything else. He shook his head and focused his attention on the floor. If he had the ability, he knew he would be crying right now.

After their conversation, his former friends informed him that they were letting him go now, but soon he would be hunted just like the humans. They claimed that there were little hosts left alive on the station, therefore they no longer needed him to help reproduce. They would take care of the rest on their own.

Of course, that all changed a few hours later when Amanda blew up the nest and killed all but a handful of his kin.

After that, they tracked him down and proposed an offer. They promised that if he could track down and kill the human responsible, they would welcome him back with open arms. At first he gladly accepted, thinking that they were actually telling the truth.

He realized later that they were lying, after the excitement died down and he could think more clearly. Even if he killed Amanda, no matter what he did, he still was not what a member of his kind was supposed to be like. Nothing had changed from before. They despised him for everything that he was, including that he thought differently from the rest of them.

' _Not to mention that I am…actually a male. And that means…'_ The alien shook his head before that thought could go any further.

After a while, he figured out what they had done. They had used him, sucked every last drop of usefulness out of him before banishing him. What he had done may have been for the good of the hive, but he was different, too different to be accepted, and therefore must be eliminated. And even though they claimed they would welcome him back, they would simply betray and kill him once Amanda was dead.

It had happened before, he knew, from memories of his already deceased kin. The different ones never lived long. Either they were killed in battle or betrayed by the hive. The only way to save themselves was to leave the hive for a long life of solitude. That was his only chance of surviving long term. Otherwise, he could have stayed among his 'kind', and died much sooner than was necessary.

Looks like he made his choice.

"Why are you on the floor?"

The alien snapped his head in the direction of the sudden sound. He found Amanda sitting up and staring at him. Pushing away the painful memories and focusing on her, he observed her to check for any signs of abnormalities, and found that for some reason her eyes were narrowed and the skin on her forehead was pinched.

" _Why are you glaring at me?"_

"I asked you a question first."

He growled at her, watching in satisfaction as she pressed herself in a corner, fear present in her eyes. She obviously remembered their conversation from earlier. The thought gave him some relief, knowing that she took him seriously. It would help keep his temper under control.

His threats earlier were empty, but she did not need to know that.

"I…I wasn't glaring at you," Amanda finally said. "I was squinting."

" _Why?"_

"It's dark in here."

The alien nodded. That explained it. He could see perfectly, whether there was light or not. He had forgotten that, for a human, if there was no light, their vision became very limited. To her, it was nearly pitch black in here.

"How long have you been here?"

" _Not long,_ " he curtly responded, going back to staring at the wall again.

Silence followed. It was uncomfortable for them both, he noticed, though that was not a huge surprise.

"So, will you tell me why you're on the floor now?" she cautiously asked.

" _You were having some sort of…panic attack, and I came to investigate._ " He chuckled slightly. _"It was certainly entertaining, watching you flail like a helpless animal._ "

If she was not glaring at him before, she was definitely glaring at him now. He could literally feel waves of anger rolling off her.

"I was just having a nightmare!" she nearly yelled. "Why the fuck didn't you wake me up!?"

He let his gaze travel back to her momentarily, baring his teeth at her. It was enough to silence anything else she might have said, and caused her to shrink back against the wall again. She was shaking too, and he could see bumps appearing on her now bare arms and legs. That was new; and with a quick scan of her mind, he found that fear was not the only reason she was shaking.

" _By the way, your heavy fabric is over there, by the wall._ " He gestured behind him in the direction of the object in question.

Amanda blinked and looked around her, obviously looking for it, before standing up. The alien watched her as she walked around him until she disappeared around the corner to grab it. A moment later, she appeared with the fabric in her arms.

"How did my blanket end up over there?" she asked, climbing back into her sleeping space.

' _So that is what they call it,'_ he thought.

" _You were struggling with it, so I pulled it off you."_

He thought she would glare at him again, but all she did was stare at him as she laid back down, pulling the blanket over her in the process. The two stayed like that for a little while, staring at each other, until Amanda let out a loud sigh and rolled over, turning her back on him. He continued to stare at her clothed back and let his mind wander. And when it kept wandering back to his deceased kin, he stood and went to Amanda's side again.

He noticed that she was still awake. She must have heard his footsteps, for she turned around and glanced at him before, very quickly, going back to facing the wall. He could see her body tense up in response to her sudden nervousness, and gave his version of a laugh in response. She apparently heard that too, because her muscles tightened even further. Finally after a small period of time, she rolled over onto her back.

"Are you going to stand there long?" she asked, eyeing him cautiously.

" _I might,"_ he said, baring his teeth in a smile. _"Why do you ask?"_

"You know why," she said. "Look, can you please just leave me alone. I need to sleep."

" _And if I do not?"_

She sighed again, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You want to survive. Right?"

The alien was silent for a second, shocked at her sudden boldness. _"Are you threatening me?"_

"Not...But just listen for a sec," Amanda said, sitting up in the process. "This ship being in good condition is what's going to keep us both alive. Do you agree?" When he nodded, she continued. "Well, I've noticed that there are some things that need to be fixed in order to keep the ship in good condition; and they need to be fixed. Soon. But I can't do that if I'm tired."

She gave him a pointed stare. He stayed silent, so she shook her head before continuing again. "What's more important? Bugging me or surviving?"

The alien growled, not liking her tone one bit. It almost sounded like she was talking to a newborn with no intelligence. At that moment, the thought of punishing her was starting to sound like a pleasant idea, but she was right. He did not even know how this ship worked, so fixing anything would be out of the question.

Instead of answering her, he simply stomped towards the door, irritated that he had just been talked down to by a weak, useless human, and laid down on the floor. The door opened in response to his movement, but closed as soon as he settled down.

He could feel her eyes on him for a short time, but she eventually turned away and laid down herself. The alien laid there for a long time, unwillingly remembering his former 'family' and thinking about his current unfortunate position.

" _If only I was not so afraid of death, this would all be over,"_ he thought to himself. After a while, though he was not very tired, he fell into peaceful, thoughtless oblivion.

…

Amanda cursed as she dropped the soap again, and bent over to pick it up. She winced at the brief flash of pain the followed using the muscles in her hands. Ever since what she'd been forced to do last night, her hands were currently in no condition to do something as simple as wrapping around a small object. And while she was cursing, she cursed the alien's existence as well.

The first couple days they spent together weren't terrible, surprisingly; just awkward and irritating. The alien was gone when she woke up on the first day, which was a bit of a relief for her. After their first night on the ship, the last thing she wanted to do was spend an extended amount time with him.

That didn't last all day, however. After a few hours without seeing any sign of him, he seemingly showed up out of nowhere, startling her greatly since she had forgotten that she was not alone. He sat back and watched for a while, but was soon asking question after question about anything and everything. Amanda had no choice but to answer each and every one of them, or face possibly being injured again, and she had no desire to bandage any more wounds.

Still, even with the alien's constant bantering, she managed to fix any major problems on the ship by day two. After that, she moved onto less important issues. And, for whatever reason, she had seen fit to let the alien know that there were no longer any life threatening issues with the ship.

Big mistake on her part. Amanda took a moment to shake her head at her past, stupider self.

She had learned to keep an eye on him if he was with her by the middle of the third day. Or in other words, she was always keeping an eye on him. If she didn't, anything important that she picked up would be plucked right out of her hands, mainly tools. Then she had to waste time trying to get them back, which involved chasing the alien around the ship like a mad woman. And it really pissed her off. Especially after he started climbing into vents, dangling the objects above her head, and making her jump and beg for them until he got bored and gave them back or dropped them on her head.

Then last night, after chasing him around, playing 'grab the power tool', and then chasing him some more, he had the nerve to demand incentive to give her blow torch back.

She'd sat down when she got tired of chasing him, lungs burning and chest heaving, after sprinting for what felt like forever. When a couple minutes passed, he came to her, only to tease her with the torch. Still breathing quite heavily, she watched him slowly inch closer to her. Once he was within reaching distance, he held the blow torch out to her.

Amanda knew better. If she tried to reach for it, he would move his hand. And if she tried to act quickly and lunge for it, he would jump back. Then she would end up on the floor with him laughing at her. This time she did nothing, except glare at him.

"I'm not…gonna try…to grab it," she managed to get out. She was still getting her breath back after the marathon he had forced her to run.

He said nothing, only moved a little closer, and then started dangling the torch right in her face, daring her to grab it. Amanda's glare deepened, but then sighed and face palmed. What did she expect?

"I can't… run anymore…alright. I'm done."

She guessed she got through to him this time, for he dropped the hand holding the tool back to his side and straightened up. He stared at her for several long moments. The silence seemed to stretch on forever, only interrupted by Amanda's now slowing breaths.

" _You are no fun,"_ he finally said. _"And you have such little stamina."_

"Well that's not my fault!" Amanda said defensively. "I'm an engineer, not an athlete. I'm not used to running like that."

" _Well, get used to it then."_

Amanda bristled. "Listen you," she hissed. "My heart feels like it's going to give out! Is that what you want?" Nearly shouting by the end, but she quieted when he barred his teeth and growled. So she tried a different approach.

"Look, can you please give that torch back now? We've been running around for nearly an hour. Isn't that enough for you."

He barred his teeth again. This time in a smile. _"Not really. I am nowhere near my limit of physical exertion right now."_

"Well…Is there something else that can convince you to give that back? Something that I can handle without killing myself?"

" _Hmm…Let me think…"_ The alien said to her, bringing his left hand up to his face to tap his chin with his finger, crossing the other over his chest. Amanda sighed irritably. He did that sometimes, imitated human gestures in front of her. Sometimes it impressed and intrigued her when he did things like that. But now, it was doing nothing more than pushing her buttons.

" _Ahh, I have it,"_ he finally said. _"I want you to massage my back."_

"What!?" Amanda gasped. "You want me to…"

The alien let out a series of hisses, his version of a laugh.

"Are you even going to feel it through that thick exoskeleton of yours?"

" _I should. You will just have to press down hard enough."_

Her eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not. I'll probably have to stand on you in order to get you to feel anything!"

The alien was unmoved. _"Well then. I suppose you had better develop a better set of lungs with greater air capacity. Soon too, if you want your torch back."_

Amanda sighed again, now thoroughly annoyed and fighting the urge to shout, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. She didn't want to ruin her hands by rubbing them against his thick armor, but her chest ached at the thought of running again. And she knew she would collapse if she was forced to move like that again.

With another heavy sigh, Amanda finally said, "Alright damnit. I'll massage your back. Just let me finish fixing the temperature regulator first. It's starting to get cold in here."

The alien smirked again. _"Deal,"_ he said before handing the torch back to her.

Amanda took it and headed back to finish up with him close behind, and he watched her until she was done. To her dismay, it didn't take very long. And once she was finished cleaning up, she followed him back to the bunk room.

" _Oh, and by the way,"_ he said on the way there. _"Use your hands only. Do not attempt to stand on me."_ She sighed again, thoroughly defeated. Off course he had to make this as difficult as possible.

Upon hearing a noise nearby, Amanda broke from the memory and stared at the shower curtain, the only thing separating her from the bunk room. Well, it was more like an extra bed sheet Amanda had found, but it was better than nothing. She did not want the alien staring at her while she was taking a shower. Even if he was of another race, he was still male, and the thought of a male watching her without clothes on was nerve racking to say the least.

"Hello," she called out. "Is anyone out there?" Silence was her only response. After a few seconds of it, she shook her head and quickly finished up her shower.

Amanda braced herself as she stepped out into the bunk room, her skin prickling at the sudden change in temperature. Going from a warm, steamy shower environment to a numbing, freezing one was never something she'd been a fan off. She quickly grabbed a towel and began drying off, keeping her eye on the door in the process. Just in case the alien 'forgot' about her request to stay out of the bunk room when she was showering. Or more likely, walked right in for no reason whatsoever. At least if she kept an eye on the door and listened for noises in the vent, she could hopefully cover herself before he saw too much.

While she occupied herself with drying her body, her mind wandered back to what happened the night before. As she'd predicted, it was not easy giving an alien who was covered in thick, heavy exoskeleton armor a massage. She literally had to put most of her body weight on her hands. And even then he claimed he barely felt anything.

Not to mention that the exoskeleton was unyielding. Unlike human skin, which could be pinched between one's fingers, his would not bend or shift no matter what she tried. So in order to keep him from complaining, she had to not only put her body weight onto her hands, but she also had to run them along the uneven patterns on his back. All the hard bumps and crevices caused large amounts of pain for Amanda within the first few minutes, but the alien refused to let her stop until at least a half hour had passed. Not to mention that his back spines only served to hinder her efforts.

Amanda glared at the floor as she wrapped the towel around her hair and gently rubbed her hands to ease some of the pain. After a few seconds, she turned and glared at the bunk they were on last night. That glare only deepened when she thought of what happened next.

After he let her stop, she collapsed next to him on the bed, grateful to finally let her throbbing hands have a break. Facing away from him, she laid there for around ten minutes, trying her best not to focus on the excruciating pain in her hands. A short time later, she felt the alien move around a little, and eventually his weight left the bed. She thought he would leave, but she never heard the door open.

Then, bracing herself for the pain, she grasped the blanket and pulled it over her, thankful that she had thought to change into her night clothes before massaging the alien. Curling into a ball, Amanda closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain and focus on falling asleep, cursing him all the while. She hadn't been sleeping very well. Just like on the first night, she had horrible nightmares that plagued her mind at night, making sleep nearly impossible. And now with the pain in her hands, sleep would be an even more impossible thing to achieve. Not surprisingly, it took a long while, but eventually she started to drift off.

But of course, the alien wasn't done yet.

Just when she thought she was going to fall asleep, she felt the bunk sinking beside her as something put weight on it. Before she could say a word, the alien wrapped his body around hers. She jumped in shock, but was stopped when he wrapped his arm around her waist. Amanda tried to get up, but he forced her back down on the mattress. She quit fighting a short time later, and let him get comfortable.

When he was finally finished moving around, the bottom of his jaw was pressed against the top of her head, his arm remained draped over her waist, and, when she tried to uncurl from her balled up position, she accidentally kicked his tail with her feet before curling back up again. She could see the tail was wrapped her as well, not touching her but not very far away, with the blade resting on top of his head.

Amanda shivered under the blankets, partly from discomfort and partly from the cold that seemed to radiate from his body. Even with the thick fabric between them, she could still feel cool temperature of his skin seeping through the blanket. She tried to wiggle away from him, if only to out distance between their bodies, but his arm tightened on her waist before letting out a warning growl.

Knowing that fighting anymore was useless, she went limp and allowed him to pull her back against his freezing, armored chest. A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. That was easier said than done, especially thanks to his cold skin, but she still managed to fall something like asleep after a long while.

Sighing again and rubbing her tired eyes, Amanda quickly finished drying her hair and dropped the towel on the ground. While promising herself that she would pick it up later, she walked over to her storage locker to grab her night clothes to change into. On the way, she wondered briefly why the alien had done that. Just like on day one, he slept on the floor in front of the door. And if he was uncomfortable there, he could've easily climbed into one of the other bunks.

Amanda shook her head in wonder and irritation as she opened the locker door. 'Maybe he liked my body heat or something. The hive was warm, so he probably likes heat. And with the entire ship being freezing cold…'

Her thoughts cut off a moment later after she saw what was in her locker.

Or, more accurately, what wasn't in the locker.

She blinked a few times and shook her head, even rubbing her eyes again to make sure she wasn't seeing things due to lack of sleep, but the image remained the same.

Her clothes, which she had stored in the locker before her shower, were gone.

'The fuck?' she whispered to herself, momentarily wondering where her clothes could've gone, before turning to glance around the room. 'Did I set them somewhere else and forget about it? Maybe lack of sleep is getting to me more than I…'

Her current thought suddenly stopped as the pieces finally fell together.

She knew for sure that she had set the clothes in the locker. She wasn't sleep deprived enough to forget that. So that meant that someone else had to have moved them. And since there was only one other individual on board the ship with her…

"God damn that slimy alien bastard!" she growled to herself, but silenced any nasty thoughts a second later. The last thing she wanted was for the alien to hear them and risk being punished as a result; even if said thoughts were completely true.

" _Hey,"_ she telepathically sent to him, after a few seconds of deep, heavy breaths to calm down.

" _What?"_ He asked a second later. _"Are you done bathing yet? I have run out of things to entertain myself with."_

" _Yes. I'm done. Will you come here please? I need to talk to you."_

" _I will be there in a moment."_

Amanda crossed her hands over her chest, thinking about what she was going to say to him, when the action reminded her that her breasts, and the rest of her body, were nude and on display. She quickly bent over and grabbed the towel she'd discarded earlier before wrapping it around her bare frame. Just in time too, because a moment later the door opened and the alien strode into the room.

" _What is it?"_ he asked, curious because of her strange request, but suddenly halted. _"Where are your clothes?"_

"I should be asking you the same thing," she hissed. "Where are they?"

He smiled at her. _"Why, I have idea what you are talking about,"_ he said, but the wide grin he had plastered on his face said otherwise. _"What would I do with them?"_

"I don't know and I don't give a fuck. I just want them back."

His grin disappeared. _"Such harsh language,"_ he chastised her. _"How can you be sure it was even me?"_

Amanda's fists clenched, extremely close to drawing blood. "Are you kidding me?" she growled. "How could it be anyone but you?"

He was still for a while, long enough that Amanda questioned what he was doing, then that grin came back.

Only this time, instead of displaying obvious false innocence, it told of a more predatory intent.

His voice suddenly echoed through her head, deep chuckles that vibrated in her skull. She was used to that by now; but she wasn't used to him using a tone as dark as this one was. The way it promised that she was going to suffer… Almost like when he first spoke to her. The thought sent chills down her spine and goosebumps along her arms and legs.

" _You are afraid."_ he observed.

"Where are they?" she asked again instead, unwilling to admit what they both knew was true. "Quit playing games. I'm getting sick of them. What did you do with my clothes?"

" _Your voice is quivering,_ " he told her, taking a step forward. To Amanda's disappointment, she took a step back. _"So admit it then. Admit you are afraid."_

"Will you give me my clothes back?"

His grin widened again, enough so that Amanda could see his back teeth. _"No, I will not."_

By now, the alien had backed her against the wall. He'd done this before, but this time seemed to be worse than any others since she was nearly naked this time. Sure, she had the towel, but it wouldn't take much to tear it away from her.

"What do you want?" she whispered after a few seconds of silence had passed.

He braced his hands on the wall, on both sides of her head, and leaned in until their faces were inches apart. _"I was wondering when you would ask that."_

"Just stop," she said. "You want something, so tell me what it is." She paused for a moment. "And please back away."

To her surprise, the alien did just that. He took his hands off the wall, wiped that grin off his face, and stepped away from her. Then he stared at her, eying her body up and down. She could tell by the movement of his head that he was doing just that, and even though he had no eyes and his face remained blank, it still made her uncomfortable all the same. He continued this for a short while, and just when Amanda was about to say something, he spoke.

" _I want to see you without your clothes on."_

…

Sorry for the long wait. High school, my job, weight loss, and the usual bullshit that comes with being a teenage girl is partially responsible. I hope to update the next part of the story soon, but I'm not sure when that will happen. I'll try my best thought. That much I can promise.


	3. Important update 2

_Hello there. I decided to upload a new incomplete update because I feel bad about how long this is taking. However, I am getting there. What I have so far is already 8,000 words long and could easily reach up to 11 or 12 thousand by the time I'm done. Once again, I am sorry for the wait. I hope this helps._

 _By the way, some have mentioned that my last update confused them. That was just a small part of the full update. The full version of chapter 3 takes place immediately after chapter 2. The new full chapter will explain everything. I promise._

...

She could hear him moving around on the mattress, but soon there was complete silence. Amanda laid there for a minute or two, eyes closed and waiting for something to happen. Finally, she felt his hands on her hips, gripping her tightly to hold her down and in place.

She opened her mouth, but three things happened before she could say any words. First, she suddenly felt warm air running across her swollen slit. A moment later, something hard and hot was pressed against her folds. Then, last but not least, that something buried itself inside her. Amanda gasped at the sudden entrance, but was crying out in pleasure as the thing drove in and out of her.

"Open your eyes," he whispered.

Her eyes flew open, and she locked onto what was happening between her legs. The alien, who she originally thought had mounted her after all, instead had his head buried between her legs. She made another attempt to speak, but then she felt his hard, armored head grind against her wet flesh, and whatever she was going to say came out as a loud moan instead.

She could feel his tongue, or his inner mouth, rummaging around inside her. He rubbed it against her walls as he thrust in and out, but he eventually left it inside her. He probed her instead, poking at her walls, trying to find her more sensitive spots. It didn't take him long to find one, and when he did he roughly ground his mouth against it.

Unfortunately he wouldn't stick to one spot for long. Every time he found one, he would massage it for all of two seconds before pulling away. Soon he returned to thrusting his mouth into her, but much more slowly this time.

"God damnit. Knock that off, would you!"

"Knock what off?"

"This slow shit you're doing. Go faster!"

The alien chuckled and, to her relief, he speed up…for a few seconds. Then he slowed down again. And, to her extreme agitation, he pulled out of her completely. Instead he rubbed the skin on the outer part of her entrance, making sure that his hot breath was still fanning over her clit.

Amanda let out a loud, frustrated growl. "Stop fucking torturing me."

"Why?"

"The fuck do you mean 'why'? Go faster!"

The alien pulled back and growled a little. "So inconsiderate," he hissed. "You ask me to do one thing, and when I do it, you reprimand me."

"What are you talking about?'

"You told me to make you beg earlier. Remember?"

Amanda blushed, embarrassed. "Oh…Right," she said sheepishly.

He huffed, slightly irritated, but lowered his head in between her legs again. "I am only doing what you ask." Amanda felt his mouth run over her entrance before penetrating her again. She gasped loudly, but moaned in loss when he pulled out after only sinking in a few inches.

"Please," she begged.

"That is a start," he said. "But I think you can do better."

"What do you want me to say?"

He chuckled. "How about you tell me exactly what you want me to do." He didn't pull back, but still met her gaze from between her legs, grinning all the while. "Be descriptive. Tell me what I need to do to make you come undone."

"Fuck me," she pleaded.

"How?" he asked. "I can think of four different ways to fuck you." He ran his mouth over her drenched lips again, grinning when she moaned and shuddered in response.

"Please…"

"Please what?" he interrupted. "Tell me what you want, little slut."

"Use your mouth. Please... As rough as you can. Make me scream until I cum. Please…"

He chuckled again. "As you wish."

Then he was inside her again. His mouth roughly pounded itself against her walls, as hard as he dared, trying to find her more sensitive spots again. Amanda screamed and tried to thrust her hips, but his hands were still holding her down, refusing to let her move an inch. Her legs wound around his head again to try and pull him even closer. He responded and, using his tight grip on her hips as leverage, pressed his head even tighter against her sex, providing friction from the outside.

She threw her head back and screamed. "Yes…oh fuck…yeah…just like that…Ohhh," she moaned, crying out her pleasure to him. "Fuck!" she shrieked as his mouth passed over a particularly sensitive spot. "Right there! Just a little…" He quickly found the spot and roughly pounded it with his mouth. "Ohhh yeah…Like that…Yes…"

Her face was bright red, and her entire body was writhing in ecstasy. She was close again. Very close. All she needed was one more little push before she was thrown over the edge…

Thankfully, he gave it to her. She felt his tail drape over her, holding her down while his hands ran over her body. One went between her legs and tease her hardened bud while the other palmed and squeezed her chest.

It was too much; she couldn't handle it for long. Her sex clamped down hard on the alien's mouth when she released. Her cries echoed around the room, as did the wet squelching noise the alien's mouth made every time he drove it in and out of her. Eventually she stopped pulsing around him, and he pulled his mouth away from her burning sex to sit up.

She could feel his eyes on her as she caught her breath. Already, the heat was building up again, her skin itching for release, entrance throbbing heavily. She felt like her body was on fire, and she was getting more desperate, but unlike earlier she felt like she finally knew what it was her body wanted.

"Your scent is getting stronger," the alien whispered to her. He brought a knee up and pressed it between her legs. She groaned heavily and ground against it, his cool skin granting some relief from the burn.

"As is your desperation," he added and pushed even harder against her sex. Amanda's eyes closed and she whimpered softly. A moment later, he pulled his leg away from her. When she opened her eyes she found him hovering over her, staring down at her pale form. Amanda stared back at him, until she felt something poking at her inner thigh. She swallowed hard and glanced down, already knowing what was pressing against her. When she laid eyes on it, her jaw dropped


End file.
